Secrets of ancient Irish burial practices revealed - Leitrim ObserverFirst evidence of dismemberment of bodies in pre-historic Ireland.
A new analysis of bones taken from a century-old excavation at
Carrowkeel in County Sligo has revealed evidence of the burial practices
and death rites of the ancient people of Ireland.
The findings, which have been published in the journal Bioarchaeology
International, are part of a project applying modern techniques and
research questions to the human remains.
The team of researchers includes Sam Moore, lecturer in Prehistoric
Archaeology at IT Sligo, and the group’s work focussed on the 5300
years-old Passage Tomb Complex at Carrowkeel. This site is one of the
most impressive Neolithic ritual landscapes in Europe.
“The bones were analysed from an original excavation of Carrowkeel in
1911, led by Prof R.A.S. McAlister,” explains Sam. “They were
subsequently presumed missing or lost until a group of boxes with the
name ‘Carrowkeel’ on them was discovered in the archive in the
University of Cambridge in 2001. The bones date from between 3500 and
2900 BC."...